Yesterday, Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment surprise-launched the free to play battle royale Apex Legends. The game has been praised for several reasons, including the personalities of its playable characters and the strength of its gameplay. However, there is one thing that some players think that the game is missing: cross-platform gameplay.

As of the time of writing, Apex Legends does not allow players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One to play with one another. But speaking in a new interview, Respawn Entertainment confirmed that it is working on it. The studio stated that there are "plans to allow players to play with their friends on other platforms," though it did not reveal exactly when the Apex Legends cross-play update may be made available.

This cross-platform play will not include cross-progression, said Respawn. Cross-progression would allow players to keep their purchases, item unlocks (including cosmetic character skins), and stats no matter what platform they are on. But the Apex Legends developer explained that "due to the way systems were set up early on," a feature like cross-progression cannot be "reconciled after the fact." Cross-play would still be a win for fans though, and some players on PC and consoles will be happy to play the new battle royale game together.

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It's unclear when Apex Legends may be getting this cross-play support, especially as cross-play between the PS4 and the Xbox One is relatively new. Sony notoriously dragged its heels on supporting cross-play between PS4 and other consoles and though it has now been introduced, it is still being rolled out slowly.

The first game that received full cross-play support is Epic Games' multiplayer smash, Fortnite. The only other game to get this cross-play support is Rocket League. It's worth noting that Epic had already accidentally made cross-play happen by that point and Rocket League studio Psyonix had also said that it has been ready to go on cross-play for a while. This may have given the studios a headstart in getting cross-play approved by Sony and releasing it to players.

When Apex Legends does eventually get cross-play, fans will no doubt be delighted. While Respawn's last game, Titanfall 2, had disappointing sales, Apex Legends has been already been a huge hit, racking up more than 1 million unique players within just eight hours of launching. With this many players spread across three platforms, it means that there will likely be a healthy appetite for cross-play when it finally becomes available.

Apex Legends is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Eurogamer